Decisions. Decisions. My wife wants me to thin out my computer stuff. Without doing a formal inventory, which I tried once and gave up on because it was just too much, here's what I have:

1. Two complete PII computers2. One AMDK6 computer3. One PIII computer4. One P4, almost complete - it's a Compaq Evo (small form thing) with no optical drive5. Another P4 - CPU is good, board is bad. I haven't checked the other components; hit by lightning.

All are sitting idle and with the exception of number 5, all are working. As for spare parts, that's where the formal inventory part became too much. I have one spare monitor (good to have), three or four keyboards (good to have), several hard drives, one or two CDROMs, a few power supplies, memory, sound cards, video cards, Ethernet cards, power cords, and more. Most of the parts are from the PI and PII era and may not be be practical anymore. I don't think anyone would want an 8MB video card unless they have a PI or PII that is still used daily and they so no need to part with.

If you're local and are looking for something, contact me (upper right). I don't want to part with everything (the PIII is not available and neither is the monitor) but I want to clear things out.

Fellow Pittsburgh alumnus Myron Cope has passed away. A local legend, Cope was an integral part of Pittsburghcana. Outsiders may have found him hard to bear but, just as I did as an outsider, I learned to appreciate the man and understand how much he meant to Pittsburghers. He was truly one of a kind and his golden voice and witty perspectives will sorely be missed. yoi!

Another relic from the days when things were built to last has seen its time come. We decided to replace the stove. We bought a Kenmore with the flat glass top and electronic controls, yay. Call me old-fashioned but turning some knobs to set a temperature and time works remarkably well. I can't wait to see how complicated appliance makers have made cooking. I am the cook; the oven just gives me the heat I need. I don't like to boast, but I am a damn fine cook, too. I make almost all the meals around here. However, I am not a baker. Baking is too messy and I am not a big cookie, cake, and pie guy. Meals are my forte.

This was the original stove in the house and, thus, dates back to 1974. It's a Hotpoint drop-in.

A beauty, eh?

Here's a view of the top.

Sure, lotsa wear and tear and although it looks like crap, it still works. An element burned out and, although I replaced it once before, we feel it's time to upgrade; mainly due to the 'it looks like crap' aspect. The last remaining 'built to last' appliance in the house is a GE dishwasher that dates back to 1984. A few years ago we replaced the Kenmore garbage disposal which dated from 1980 and the previous owners had left the receipt for that; cost: ~$15. They left the DW receipt here too and I think that was around $600. In fact, even though we are the third owners of this house, we have almost all the manuals and accompanying receipts for everything. The first owner passed on most of the manuals and accompanying receipts to the second owners who passed them on to us. I can't overstate what a nice gesture that is.

Now that I think about it, there is another quality relic in the house - a Sears toilet in the downstairs bathroom. I had to fix a leak once and remember seeing that inside the tank the code 'M33AUG 4-77' is stamped; and that code is actually stamped, not inked, into the tank on the inside. I have replaced the other two toilets since we've been here.

I am sure I'll like the new range, even though I'll probably have to RTM in order to figure out how to bake something for 45 min @ 350; heck, probably have to read it to figure out how to boil a pot of water.

I received my passport in the mail yesterday. They said 6-8 weeks but I got it in 10 days! w00t! I didn't get my birth certificate back yet, though. I guess the Dept. of State still has it. I am guessing that once they ok the passport, it gets printed somewhere (it was postmarked from a government printing office in Charleston, SC) and then BC is likely with the Dept. of State and then they'll send it back separately. I hope so!

I opted to purchase a two-meter handheld first instead of a dual-band mobile to use as a base station like I initially had planned. My reasoning was that the prices for the new dual-bands aren't much less that what used HF transceivers sell for and the used dual-bands don't sell for much less used than new. So, I decided to study for the General license, the next class up, and then look at buying an HF rig. In case you have no idea what I'm talking about, I'll summarize.

The Technician license, the license I have, is the first license to earn in amateur radio. With it, you can transmit on the allocated frequencies 6M and up which is 50MHz and higher; also known as the VHF/UHF bands. The 2M and 70cm (often called 440 because the range is 430-450MHz) bands are the most popular bands here. Hence, the dual-band transceivers you see are almost always 2M/440. The radio I bought for portability transmits on the 2M band only - 144-148MHz. There is a lot of activity on that band and generally the contacts are through repeaters instead of direct contact. The General license allows many privileges on the higher wavelength bands, like 160 down to 10 meter (1.8MHz to 28MHz). These are the HF bands and are used for greater distance contacts be they U.S. and North America or Europe or S. America or wherever, depending on what frequency you are using. The next, and highest class, license is Extra and that gives full amateur privileges on the amateur bands.

As for the VX-150, I like it and I've had no trouble hitting the Bangor repeater (147.045) or the W3OI repeater (146.940) in Allentown on 3W; 5W is the max on this thing. I programmed in 16 local repeaters that I should be able to hit from various points locally and, since the scan range is 140-174MHz, a few other frequencies like weather and police. Once I travel around with it I will program in other repeaters I pick up - in Berks and other nearby counties, maybe some Philly or N. Jersey ones, Jersey shore, and Pittsburgh, and others as I pick them up.

I plan on taking the General in March or April and then by summer purchasing an HF rig, power supply, and antenna and getting all that set up. So, for now, I'll just be on the 2M repeaters wherever I go.

One thing I don't understand is Groundhog Day. It's a rodent for cryin' out loud. I will share some groundhog stories I have.

Last spring my daughter and the neighbor's kid came running down to me to tell me a groundhog was by the swingset and wasn't moving and they were scared of it. Thinking this was odd, I grabbed a shovel and went to investigate. I saw this mangy looking groundhog just sitting there. I walked right up to it and got within the shovel handle's distance and the varmit didn't run away. So, I prodded him with the shovel and he got a little upset, bit the shovel, but eventually ran and went into a hole about 10 yards away. He looked all ratty and I had a feeling he wasn't well. About 30 minutes later, I saw him again by my garden. So, I called the police, and an officer came out and shot him for me. I tossed the thing into the woods.

Last August or September, I was eyeing three turkey vultures out in the field behind my house. They were having quite a feast. Curious, I walked out to see what lunch was. The birds flew off and I saw a dead groundhog with what was an obvious gunshot wound in the neck and side of the face. Obviously, it wasn't the one the officer shot because that incident happened months before, but I still wonder who shot it.

Several years ago, a groundhog had dug a hole right underneath the window sill of the window for the computer room. He would come out sometimes sit on the window sill and scare the heck out of me. My cat sits there too so seeing a groundhog when expecting a cat catches you off guard. I tried for about a year to get rid of him with a trap. Eventually, I dumped some poison (a TSP solution, after I used it to scrub the wooden steps to the porch) down the hole and covered it up. He never came back. The hole is still filled in to this day.

I know Groundhog Day has a strong tradition here in Pennsylvania and has roots in a German religious holiday called Candlemas, but I still don't get it. Groundhogs are a nuisance.

I passed the amateur radio license test tonight. Once my license appears in the FCC database, I can transmit on the bands permitted by the Technician class license; which is all allocated amateur frequencies 50MHz and above which is the same as wavelengths 6M and below. Locally, a lot of action is on the two meter band which is 144-148 MHz.

I have no equipment yet, other than borrowing my dad's handheld 2M transciever. So I've been listening; it's like hanging out in IRC but not being permitted to type anything. I will likely purchase a dualband mobile transceiver to use as a base station. I am eyeing the Yaesu 7800R. Once I buy the 7800 and a power supply and antenna, I should be good to go. With the technician class license and that particular transceiver, the range will not be very far so I won't be talking to anyone in Texas or Brazil anytime soon. I will need the next license up (General) and a HF transceiver and the appropriate antenna to do that. So, once I get my call sign, I'll be on the air.

Santa stuffed a little bicycle odometer/speedometer thingy (called a 'cycle computer' on the packaging) in my stocking a few weeks ago so now I am able to measure more accurately the distances I cover when biking. Since I was born with flat feet and I can't run very well (even in high school the smokers would beat me in the mile. I could barely do it in under 10 minutes then), so biking is how I exercise.

It turns out my standard route is 10.9 km, or about 6.5 miles, round trip. I had estimated about 5-6 miles going by the mile posts on the path and then adding in the route to the path that runs along the river and is only about a 1/2 km from my house. The terrain locally is fraught with hills and it's uphill to my house so it's a hard 10.9 too and it's steep enough that I have to walk some of it on the return trip home. Some parts of my usual ride are difficult to maintain a 20 kph speed.

Anyway, the device is called a 'cycle computer' because it also tracks your speed, distance, average speed, calories burned, tells the temperature, and a few other things. On my last ten-point niner, the computer said I burned 355 calories which doesn't seem like a lot. I think taking the terrain into account, I can add at least 75 to that. Still, though, 430 calories is only a few beers or a hot dog. I know you burn calories throughout the day doing the daily things one does and little things can help. One thing I never do is take the elevator. Four floors or less, I walk it, unless it's a situation where the elevator is the only option, or I have the kids and strollers and such with me.

In the warmer months, I try to bike at least three times a week. In the winter and early spring, I have to sneak in a ride when weather permits. Exercise is important. More Americans should do it.

New England over Jacksonville (take Jax and the points on this one)San Diego over Indianapolis

Seattle over Green BayDallas over New Jersey

Of the four NFC teams left, I like none of them. Seattle would be "rootable for" except for the fact that Holmgren is waaaaay overrated. I have to root for the New Jersey Giants <shudder> to upset Dallas but I don't see it happening. I have no beef with any of the AFC teams left some hopefully an AFC team will win the Super Bowl.